Home appliance and home appliance system

ABSTRACT

A home appliance and a home appliance system are provided which control a sound output from an output device upon receipt of an external command signal of ON or OFF. Further, the home appliance and home appliance system control a sequence of output of an acoustic signal output from a conversion device. Accordingly, it may be possible to notify a user of the outputting of the acoustic signal by controlling the sequence of output of the acoustic signal, thereby increasing user convenience.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/048,759 filed Apr. 29, 2008, Korea Application No. 10-2008-0040023filed in Korea on Apr. 29, 2008, and Korea Application No.10-2009-0030949 filed in Korea on Apr. 9, 2009, which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to a home appliance and a home appliancesystem, and more particularly, to a home appliance and a home appliancesystem which enable a user to conveniently transmit an output sound to aservice center, when a sound including product information of the homeappliance is output.

2. Background

Home appliances and home appliance systems are known. However, theysuffer from various disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a home appliance, including a controller that includes astorage device for storing the product information of the home appliancefor the fault diagnosis, and loads the product information stored in thestorage device and outputs a control signal, when the fault diagnosiscommand is received; a conversion device that converts the controlsignal which includes product information into at least one acousticsignal and outputs the at least one acoustic signal; and a output devicethat outputs a sound corresponding to the at least one acoustic signal.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a home appliance system, including a conversion device that,upon receipt of a control command, converts product information into atleast one acoustic signal and outputs the at least one acoustic signalif the external command signal is ON, and does not output the at leastone acoustic signal if the external command signal is OFF; an outputdevice that outputs a sound corresponding to the at least one acousticsignal output from the conversion device; a controller that controls theat least one acoustic signal converted and output by the conversiondevice, so that a user is notified that the product information is aboutto be output; and a management device configured to receive the soundand inversely convert the sound into the product information based onthe sound.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the followingdrawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a home appliance in the form of alaundry treatment machine according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control flow of the laundry treatmentmachine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view showing separation of a plurality ofacoustic signals S1, S2, S3 output from the conversion device of FIG. 2according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual view showing separation of a plurality ofacoustic signals S1, S2, S3 output from the conversion device of FIG. 2according to another embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a home appliance system in the form of alaundry treatment machine system W1 according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control flow of the laundry treatmentmachine system W1 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operating method of a home applianceaccording to an embodiment; and

FIGS. 8 to 12 are views illustrating an operating method of a homeappliance according to the present invention via screens displayed on adisplay device of the home appliance.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Conventionally, when problems with home appliances occur, users usuallycall a service center to ask for a repairman to come for repairs.However, the repairman's visit(s) incur excessive costs, and often it isnot easy to deal with problems when doing the repairs because no priorinformation was provided. With technological development, a technique ofremotely diagnosing fault information by using a telephone network hasbeen developed.

European Patent No. 0510519 discloses a technique of sending faultinformation of a home appliance to a service center by using a telephonenetwork via a modem connected to the home appliance. With thistechnique, the modem must be connected to the home appliance. However, ahome appliance, such as a laundry treatment machine, may be installedoutdoors, and thus, there are location restrictions that must beconsidered when connecting the laundry treatment machine and thetelephone network.

Patent Registration No. U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,105 discloses a technologyfor converting fault information of a home appliance into an audiblefrequency sound via a telephone network, and transmitting the sound to aservice center via a telephone. In order to transmit the sound to theservice center, a user should put the telephone in front of a soundoutput unit that outputs a sound. The user is not informed of how muchsound must be transmitted to the service center, and how long the soundwill be output. Therefore, a sufficient amount of sound may not betransmitted to the service center, and the user may maintain thetelephone in front of the sound output unit even after the end of thesound.

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a home appliance and a homeappliance system. Embodiments of a home appliance and home appliancesystem will be described with reference to a laundry treatment machineand a laundry treatment machine system as examples. However, embodimentsare not limited to a laundry treatment machine and a laundry treatmentmachine system, but rather, may be employed as other home appliances andhome appliance systems. Such home appliances may include, for example, aTV, an air conditioner, a washing machine, a refrigerator, an electricrice cooker, or a microwave or conventional oven.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a laundry treatment machine 110according to an embodiment. As set forth above, embodiments are notlimited to a laundry treatment machine, but rather, are applicable toany home appliance. However, for convenience of explanation, a laundrytreatment machine will be described.

Referring to FIG. 1, the laundry treatment machine 110 may include acabinet 111, a tub 122 disposed inside the cabinet 111 that performswashing of laundry, a motor (not shown) that drives the tub 122, awashing fluid supply device (not shown) that supplies washing fluid tothe tub 122, and a drainage device (not shown) that discharges washingfluid outside of the laundry treatment machine 110 after washing iscompleted. The cabinet 111 may include a cabinet body 112, a cabinetcover 113 coupled to the cabinet body 112, a control panel 116 disposedon the cabinet cover 113 to control operation of the laundry treatmentmachine 110, and a top plate 115. The cabinet cover 113 may include ahole 114 a (see FIG. 1) through which laundry may be put into/removedfrom the tub 122 and a door 114 rotatably attached to the cabinet cover113 that rotates to open and close the hole 114 a.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control flow of the laundry treatmentmachine 110 of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the laundry treatmentmachine 110 may an input device 145 configured to receive a controlcommand from outside of the laundry treatment machine 110, a conversiondevice 180 that upon receipt of the control command converts a controlsignal which includes product information into at least one acousticsignal and outputs the same, a controller 170 that transmits a controlsignal which includes product information and controls the conversiondevice 180 to output the at least one acoustic signal, and an outputdevice 181 that outputs a sound corresponding to the at least oneacoustic signal output from the conversion device 180 so that a user maybe notified or made aware of the outputting of the sound from thelaundry treatment machine 110. The laundry treatment machine 110 mayfurther include a storage device 140 that stores product informationwhich will be transmitted to the management device 290, a memory device141 configured to store a data transmitted from the input device 145temporarily, and a display device 118 that displays image correspondingto signal from the controller 170. A storage device 140 can be includedin the controller 170. EEPROM (Electrically Erasable ProgrammableRead-Only Memory) can be the storage device 140.

The input device 145 may include a manipulation device 150 and thecontrol command may comprise an ON or OFF command. The user may inputuser's operation mode or option related to product operation through themanipulation device 150. Further, the conversion device 180 may convertproduct information into at least one acoustic signal and output thesame if the ON command is input from the manipulation device 150 and maynot output the at least one acoustic signal if the OFF command is inputfrom the manipulation device 150.

When the laundry treatment machine 110 is operated, product informationmay be generated. A control signal which includes product informationmay be sent to the conversion device 180. The product information may bemade up of signals. Further, the product information may include atleast one of operating information or fault information of the laundrytreatment machine 110. The operating information may include informationrequired for the operation of the laundry treatment machine 110, such asinformation about a washing stroke, a dehydration stroke, and a rinsingstroke. The fault information may be variously selected from faultinformation generated during each operation of the laundry treatmentmachine 110, for example, mechanical fault information of the laundrytreatment machine 110.

The controller 170 may transmit the control signal which includes theproduct information to the conversion device 180. The control signal mayinclude not only product information but also various information togenerate the acoustic signal and to control the conversion device, andthe output device. The transmitted product information may be convertedinto at least one acoustic signal in the conversion device 180. When theON command is input from the manipulation device 150, the conversiondevice 180 may convert the product information into the at least oneacoustic signal and output it to the output device 181. The outputdevice 181 may receive the at least one acoustic signal and output thesame as a sound corresponding to the at least one acoustic signal.

The conversion device 180 may change stored data in the storage device140 into acoustic signal which can be outputted to the output device181. That is, the conversion device 180 may include an encoder and amodulator. The encoder may encode each bit of the product informationinto symbols. The modulator may modulate the symbols onto an analogsignal. The modulated signal, e.g. the at least one acoustic signal, maythen be output to the output device 181. The output device 181 mayreceive the modulated signal, e.g. the at least one acoustic signal, andoutput the same as a sound.

The modulator may modulate the symbols using, for example, any one of afrequency shift keying method, an amplitude shift keying method, or aphase shift keying method. The frequency shift keying method is amodulation method that modulates a data value of the product informationonto a signal of a predetermined frequency. The amplitude shift keyingmethod is a modulation method that varies a level of amplitude inresponse to a data value. The phase shift keying method is a modulationmethod that varies a phase according to a data value of the productinformation.

As discussed above, the user may control the conversion device 180through the manipulation device 150. When the user inputs the ON commandinto the manipulation device 150, the controller 170 may transmitcontrol signal which includes product information to the conversiondevice 180, the conversion device 180 may convert the transmittedproduct information into the at least one acoustic signal and output it.On the other hand, when the user inputs the OFF command into themanipulation device 150, the controller 170 may not output the controlsignal which includes product information. Therefore, the user is ableto control the at least one acoustic signal generated by the conversiondevice 180 through the manipulation device 150 based on the outsideenvironment. For example, in the case that external noise is generatedby video equipment or other home appliances in the outside environment,the user may control the output of the at least one acoustic signal byinputting the OFF command into the manipulation device 150. Further,when the external noise is reduced, the user may output the acousticsignal from the conversion device 180 by inputting an external commandsignal of ON into the manipulation device 150. Thus, the user is able tocontrol the conversion device 180 by inputting the ON command throughthe manipulation device 150 when the user wants. The output device 181may be, for example, a speaker or a buzzer, and may include any meansfor outputting a sound from the laundry treatment machine 110.

Further, the input device 145 may further include a user input device160. A user may input an operation command signal through the user inputdevice 160. The user can also choose a menu to transmit productinformation to the management device 290. When the operation commandsignal is input through the user input device 160, the controller 170may control the conversion device 180 to output the at least oneacoustic signal and control the at least one acoustic signal convertedand output by the conversion device 180, the output device 181 mayreceive the at least one acoustic signal, and output the same as a soundso that the user may be notified or made aware of the outputting of thesound. Embodiments of the at least one acoustic signal will be describedbelow in detail.

Meanwhile, in a case where two buzzers exist on a laundry treatmentmachine 100, a first buzzer is a device that outputs a general sound,e.g., a washing end sound and a button effect sound from the laundrytreatment machine 100, and a second buzzer is a device that outputs asound including product information. When the second buzzer outputs thesound including the product information, the first buzzer can output astart sound notifying the output of the sound including the productinformation, and an end sound notifying the end of the output of thesound including the product information.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view of separation of a plurality of acousticsignals S1, S2, and S3 output by the conversion device 180 of FIG. 2.Referring to FIG. 3, the at least one acoustic signal may include aplurality of acoustic signals S1, S2, and S3. The plurality of acousticsignals S1, S2, and S3 may include a first acoustic signal S1 output bythe conversion device 180 to make the user aware that the productinformation is to be output, a second acoustic signal S2 including theproduct information converted and output by the conversion device 180upon completion of the conversion and output of a sound corresponding tothe first acoustic signal S1, and a third acoustic signal S3 convertedand output by the conversion device 180 to make the user aware ofcompletion of the conversion and output of a sound corresponding to thesecond acoustic signal S2.

That is, when the laundry treatment machine 110 is operated and the userinputs the ON command through the manipulation device 150, thecontroller 170 transmits the control signal which includes the productinformation to the conversion device 180. Once the product informationis transmitted to the conversion device 180, the conversion device 180converts the product information into a second acoustic signal S2. Uponcompletion of the conversion of the product information into the secondacoustic signal S2, the conversion device 180 transmits the firstacoustic signal S1 to the output device 181. A sound corresponding tothe transmitted first acoustic signal S1 may be output from the laundrytreatment machine 110 by the output device 181. That is, a soundcorresponding to the first acoustic signal S1 may be output by theoutput device 181 to inform the user that a sound corresponding to thesecond acoustic signal S2 is to be output thereafter. When theoutputting of the sound corresponding to the first acoustic signal S1 iscompleted, the conversion device 180 may transmit the second acousticsignal S2 to the output device 181. Upon transmission of the secondacoustic signal S2, the control signal transmitted from the controller170 to the conversion device 180 may be include in the acoustic signaland control the output device 181 to output a sound corresponding to thesecond acoustic signal S2. When the outputting of the soundcorresponding to the second acoustic signal S2 is completed, thecontroller 170 may control the conversion device 180 to output a thirdacoustic signal to the output device 181. The sound corresponding to thethird acoustic signal S3 informs the user that the outputting of thesecond acoustic signal S2 is completed.

The sound corresponding to the first acoustic signal S1 and the soundcorresponding to the third acoustic sound S3 may include, for example,at least one of a voice recognizable by the user, a melody, and a buzzersound. When the sound corresponding to the first acoustic signal S1 isoutput from the output device 181, the user may get ready for thetransmission of the second acoustic signal S2 corresponding to theproduct information. Further, when the sound corresponding to the thirdacoustic signal S3 is output from the output device 181, the user may bemade aware that the transmission of the second acoustic signal S2corresponding to the product information is completed. Therefore, theuser may be correctly informed of the transmission of the productinformation, thereby increasing user convenience. Further, uponoutputting of the second acoustic signal S2, it may be possible toeliminate factors disturbing the sound corresponding the second acousticsignal S2 and the user may prepare for the outputting of the secondacoustic signal S2, thereby efficiently outputting the productinformation.

Meanwhile, the conversion device 180 may output a separation signal S4to separate the acoustic signals S1, S2, and S3 during a dummy time T1between the first acoustic signal S1, the second acoustic signal S2, andthe third acoustic signal S3. That is, when the outputting of the firstacoustic signal S1 from the conversion device 180 is completed, aseparation signal S4 may be output during a dummy time T1. Further, whenthe outputting of the separation signal S4 is completed, the conversiondevice 180 may output the second acoustic signal S2. When the outputtingof the second acoustic signal S2 is completed, the conversion device 180may output a separation signal S4 during a dummy time T1. Finally, whenthe outputting of the separation signal S4 is completed, the conversiondevice 180 may output the third acoustic signal S3. Therefore, the usermay get ready to correctly output the second acoustic signal S2corresponding to the product information during the dummy time T1. Asthe second acoustic signal S2 is correctly output, this may preventdamage to the product information. Further, when the separation signalS4 is input into the output device 181, the control signal from thecontroller 170 may be included in the acoustic signal and control theoutput device 181 to output a sound corresponding to the separationsignal S4 as mute.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual view of separation of a plurality of acousticsignals S1, S2, and S3 according to another embodiment. Like referencenumerals have been used to refer to like elements. Referring to FIG. 4,when the external command signal is input from the user input device160, the controller 170 may control the conversion device 180 to outputa first acoustic signal S1 and can control the first acoustic signal S1.When the outputting of the first acoustic signal S1 is completed, theconversion device 180 may convert the product information into a secondacoustic signal S2 and output it. The second acoustic signal S2 may berepetitively output. That is, when the outputting of the first acousticsignal S1 is completed, the conversion device 180 may output a secondacoustic signal S2. Further, when the outputting of the second acousticsignal S2 is completed, the conversion device 180 may re-output thesecond acoustic signal S2. Therefore, if the second acoustic signal S2output is damaged by external disturbing factors, correct informationmay be output by re-transmitting the second acoustic signal S2.

Meanwhile, a data separation signal S5 that separates the secondacoustic signals S2 in between the repetitively output second acousticsignals S2 may be output from the conversion device 180 during a datadummy time T2. That is, the conversion device 180 may output a secondacoustic signal S2, and upon completion of the outputting of the secondacoustic signal S2, output a data separation signal S5 during a datadummy time T2. When the outputting of the data separation signal S5 iscompleted, the conversion device 180 may re-output the second acousticsignal S2. Therefore, the second acoustic signals S2 may be easilyseparated upon outputting of the second acoustic signals S2 byoutputting the data separation signal S5 during the data dummy time T2.Further, the data separation signal S5 is input into the output device181, the controller 170 may control the output device 181 to output asound corresponding to the data separation signal S5 as mute.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a home appliance system in the form of alaundry treatment machine system W1 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, a laundry treatment machine 200 includes outputdevices 71 and 72 that output predetermined product information; suchthat an operating state and fixed information of the laundry treatmentmachine 200 are output (S11). Here, the laundry treatment machine 200includes a predetermined display device 71 and a output device 72 thatoutputs a sound.

At this time, the user confirms the product information of the laundrytreatment machine 200 displayed on the output device of the laundrytreatment machine 200, and controls the operation of the laundrytreatment machine 200 or asks for repairs to a management device 290(S12).

In a case where the user is connected to the management device 290 andmanipulates an input device provided on the laundry treatment machine200 upon the request of the management device 290 (S13), a soundincluding product information is output (S14), so that the managementdevice 290 can check a product state of the laundry treatment machine200 via the sound. Here, the laundry treatment machine 200 of thepresent invention does not simply output the product information butconverts the product information into a predetermined sound and outputsthe sound.

Hereinafter, a laundry treatment machine will be exemplified as thelaundry treatment machine 200 of the present invention, which is notintended to be limiting. It is apparent that the present invention isapplicable to a TV, air conditioner, washing machine, refrigerator,electric rice cooker and microwave oven as well as the laundry treatmentmachine 200.

When the user is connected to the management device through apredetermined communication network, e.g. a telephone network, themanagement device 290 confirms the sound output from the laundrytreatment machine 200, judges the product state of the laundry treatmentmachine 200 (S15), and sends a repairman to the user so as to provide anappropriate service (S16).

Here, since the management device 290 can accurately judge and handlethe state of the laundry treatment machine 200 via the sound, it canrapidly provide a service.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control flow of the laundry treatmentmachine system W1 of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the laundry treatment machine system W1 may includethe laundry treatment machine 200, the manipulation device 150 and theuser input device 160 configured to receive a control command fromoutside of the system, the conversion device 180 that converts productinformation into at least one acoustic signal, the output device 181that outputs a sound corresponding to the at least one acoustic signaloutput by the conversion device 180, a controller 170 that transmits acontrol signal which includes product information and controls theconversion device 180 to output the at least one acoustic signal so asto make a user aware of the outputting of the sound, and a managementdevice 290 configured to receive the sound and inversely convert thesound into the product information based on the sound. The storagedevice 140 including product information can be included in thecontroller 170. The conversion device 180, the input device 160, theoutput device 181, and the controller 170 may be formed separately fromthe laundry treatment machine 200, or may be included in the laundrytreatment machine 200.

The laundry treatment machine 200 may include the same or similarcomponents as the laundry treatment machine of FIGS. 1 and 2. Themanagement device 290 may include a transmission/reception device 291that transmits and receives the sound output by the output device 181 ofthe laundry treatment machine 200, a signal conversion device 292 thatinversely converts the sound received from the transmission/receptiondevice 291 into the product information, a management device controller293 that reads the converted product information, a management devicestorage device 294 that stores the product information read by themanagement device controller 293, and a repair terminal 295 thattransmits the product information read by the management devicecontroller 293 to a repairman.

A method for converting the product information of the laundry treatmentmachine 200 into an acoustic signal and outputting a sound correspondingto the acoustic signal, and a control flow thereof are the same orsimilar to those as described with respect to FIG. 2. Further, a methodfor converting the product information into an acoustic signal is alsothe same or similar to those as described in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The sound output from the output device 181 may be transmitted to themanagement device 290 via a communications network 296. Further, thelaundry treatment machine system W1 may further include an externalterminal 230 connected to the management device 290 and thecommunications network 296. The external terminal 230 may include anydevice capable of transmitting the sound output from the output device181, such as a wired phone, a wireless phone, or a mobile phone, to themanagement device 290. The user may input the sound output from theoutput device 181 into the external terminal 230. In contrast to thedescription of FIG. 2, the sound input into the external terminal 230may be converted into a voice signal, and the voice signal may beinversely converted into the product information. Theinversely-converted product information may be compared with previouslyinput data and linked to a repairman.

That is, regarding the control flow of the management device 290, asdescribed in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the conversion device 180 outputs theacoustic signals, the output device 181 may output a sound correspondingto the acoustic signals. The output sound may be transmitted to themanagement device 290 through the external terminal 230 by the user. Thetransmitted sound may be received by the transmission/reception device291. Further, the transmission/reception device 291 may be capable ofoutputting the sound generated by the management device 290 to outsideof the management device 290, as well as receiving the sound. Thereceived sound may be transmitted to the signal conversion device 292.In the transmission procedure, the sound may be converted into anacoustic signal and transmitted. The transmitted acoustic signal may beconverted into the product information in the signal conversion device292. The procedure of converting the transmitted acoustic signal may bedone in a reverse manner to that described with respect to FIGS. 2 to 4.The converted product information may be transmitted to the managementdevice controller 293. The management device controller 293 may storepreset data therein. Therefore, the management device controller 293 maycompare the preset data and the converted product information. If it isjudged that the converted product information is different from thepreset data, the management device controller 293 may transmit theconverted product information to the repairman through the repairterminal 295. Further, the management device controller 293 may storethe converted product information in the management device storagedevice 294. Therefore, a fault history or operation information of thelaundry treatment machine 200 used by the user may be saved.

Meanwhile, the management device controller 294 may judge whether theconverted product information is correctly transmitted, as well ascompare the converted product information with the preset data. Theconverted product information may be damaged by external factors as itis transmitted to the management device controller 294. If themanagement device controller 294 judges that the converted productinformation is damaged, the management device controller 294 maytransmit a re-transmit command indicating the damage of the convertedproduct information to the signal conversion device 293. The transmittedre-transmit command may be converted into a management device acousticsignal in the signal conversion device 293. The converted managementdevice acoustic signal may be transmitted to the transmission/receptiondevice 291. The transmitted management device acoustic signal may betransmitted as a sound corresponding to the management device acousticsignal to the laundry treatment machine 291 through the externalterminal 230. The transmitted sound may be transmitted to an sound inputdevice 191, such as a microphone, and the re-transmit command may beconverted through an inverse conversion device 190 and transmitted tothe controller 170. Upon receipt of the re-transmit command, thecontroller 170 may re-transmit the product information to the conversiondevice 180. The re-transmitted product information may be output againthrough the output device 181 in a reverse manner as that described inFIGS. 2 to 4. Therefore, even when damaged product information istransmitted to the management device 290, the laundry treatment machinesystem W1 may receive the external command signal and repetitivelytransmit correct product information. Further, the laundry treatmentmachine system W1 may ensure correct repair of the laundry treatmentmachine 200 by correctly sending the product information.

Meanwhile, the management device controller 293 may discriminate theorder of the first acoustic signal S1, the second acoustic signal S2,and the third acoustic signal S3. Further, the management devicecontroller 293 may judge whether the second acoustic signal S2 isdamaged. If it is judged that the sequence of the first acoustic signalS1, the second acoustic signal S2, and the third acoustic signal S3 isdifferent from the previous input sequence, the management devicecontroller 293 may output a re-transmit command through thetransmission/reception device 291. When the re-transmit command isoutput, it may be transmitted to the inverse conversion device 190through the sound input device 191. The re-transmit command transmittedto the inverse conversion device 190 may be converted into externalinformation and transmitted to the controller 170. When the externalinformation is transmitted to the controller 170, the controller 170 maycontrol the conversion device 180 to re-output the plurality of acousticsignals S1, S2, and S3 based on the external information. Even if theplurality of acoustic signals S1, S2, and S3 generated in the laundrytreatment machine 200 is damaged and transmitted to the managementdevice 290, the user may re-transmit them by the re-transmit command.Thus, correct product information may be transmitted.

Meanwhile, the management device controller 293 may judge whether thesecond acoustic signal S2 is damaged. If it is judged that the secondacoustic signal S2 is damaged, the management device controller 293 mayoutput the re-transmit command in the same or similar manner as thatdescribed above. The re-transmit command may be input through the soundinput device 191, and transmitted to the controller 170. Even if thesecond acoustic signal S2 is damaged, the management device 290 mayreceive the second acoustic signal S2 by re-outputting. Therefore, theproduct information may be correctly transmitted to the managementdevice 290 and management of the laundry treatment machine 200 may beeasier. Moreover, even if the user does not judge whether the secondacoustic signal S2 is damaged, the second acoustic signal S2 may beretransmitted through the re-transmit command, thereby increasing userconvenience.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operating method of a home applianceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, first of all, an external command signal isinput to a controller 170 via a manipulation device 150 (S400). Thecontroller 170 outputs a sound including product information through anoutput device 181 according to the external command signal input to themanipulation device 150 (S405). While outputting the sound at step S405,the controller 170 displays an image showing a proceeding state on adisplay device 118 till an end point of the sound output (S410).

When the sound output reaches the end point, the controller 170 ends thesound output (S415), and also ends the image display (S420).

FIGS. 8 to 12 are views illustrating an operating method of a homeappliance according to the present invention via screens displayed on adisplay device of the home appliance. Hereinafter, described areembodiments displaying an image showing a remaining time till an endpoint of sound output.

When a signal output command is input through a manipulation device 150,a sound including product information is output. As illustrated in FIG.8( a), when a remaining time till an end point of the sound is 10seconds, a numerical image 600 showing ‘10’ is displayed on a displaydevice 71 a. After 9 seconds elapse, as illustrated in FIG. 8( b), anumerical image 605 showing ‘1’ is displayed. That is, aninversely-counted number image is displayed on the display device 71 a.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 9( a), a numerical image 610 showing aremaining time ‘40 seconds’ is displayed on the display device 71 a witha circle graph. After the time elapses, as illustrated in FIG. 9( b), anumerical image 615 showing a remaining time ‘20 seconds’ is displayedwith the circle graph.

For yet another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 10, an image 620showing various sizes of bar graphs is displayed. As the time elapses,display of the largest bar graph is ended first, to notify that aremaining time decreases. Referring to FIG. 11, an image 625 showing aplurality of bar graphs is displayed. As the time elapses, the number ofthe displayed bar graphs is reduced, to notify that a remaining timedecreases. As illustrated in FIG. 12, a number 630 showing a percentageof a remaining time till a sound end point in an entire sound outputtime can be displayed with a graph.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

1. In a home appliance system that transmits product information of ahome appliance to a management device through a wire/wirelesscommunication network for fault diagnosis, and diagnoses fault of thehome appliance, the home appliance, including: a controller thatincludes a storage device for storing the product information of thehome appliance for the fault diagnosis, and loads the productinformation stored in the storage device and outputs a control signal,when the fault diagnosis command is received a conversion device thatconverts the control signal which includes product information into atleast one acoustic signal and outputs the at least one acoustic signal;and a output device that outputs a sound corresponding to the at leastone acoustic signal.
 2. The home appliance of claim 1, furthercomprising: an input device configured to receive the control commandfrom outside of the home appliance.
 3. The home appliance of claim 2,wherein the input device comprises a manipulation device and the controlcommand comprises an ON or OFF command, wherein the conversion device,upon receipt of the ON or OFF command, converts product information intoat least one acoustic signal and outputs the at least one acousticsignal if the ON command is input, and does not output the at least oneacoustic signal if the OFF command is input.
 4. The home appliance ofclaim 1, further comprising: a storage device that stores the productinformation, wherein the controller transmits the control signalincluding the product information stored in the storage device to theconversion device if the user inputs the ON command into themanipulation device, and the conversion device converts the productinformation into the at least one acoustic signal.
 5. The home applianceof claim 1, wherein the at least one acoustic signal comprises aplurality of acoustic signals, wherein the plurality of acoustic signalscomprises: a first acoustic signal configured to notify the user thatthe product information is about to be output; and a second acousticsignal corresponding to the product information and configured to beoutput upon completion of the output of first acoustic signal.
 6. Thehome appliance of claim 5, wherein the plurality of acoustic signalsfurther comprises: a third acoustic signal configured to notify the userthat the product information has been output by the output device,wherein, when the conversion and outputting of the second acousticsignal is completed, the controller controls the conversion device tooutput the third acoustic signal.
 7. The home appliance of claim 6,wherein a sound corresponding to the first acoustic signal and a soundcorresponding to the third acoustic signal include at least one of avoice recognizable by the user, a melody, or a buzzer sound.
 8. The homeappliance of claim 6, wherein the controller controls the conversiondevice to output a separation signal to separate the plurality ofacoustic signals during a dummy time between the first acoustic signal,the second acoustic signal, and the third acoustic signal.
 9. The homeappliance of claim 8, wherein, when the separation signal is input intothe output device, the controller controls the output device to output asound corresponding to the separation signal.
 10. The home appliance ofclaim 5, wherein, when the outputting of the first acoustic signal iscompleted, the controller controls the output device to output thesecond acoustic signal a plurality of times.
 11. The home appliance ofclaim 10, wherein the controller controls the conversion device tooutput a data separation signal during a data dummy time in between theplurality of second acoustic signals.
 12. The home appliance of claim11, wherein, when the data separation signal is input into the outputdevice, the controller controls the output device to output a soundcorresponding to the separation signal as mute.
 13. The home applianceof claim 1, wherein the product information includes at least one ofoperating information and fault information of the home appliance. 14.The home appliance of claim 2, wherein the user device comprises an userinput device configured to receive an operation control command from theuser, wherein the controller controls a sequence of outputting the atleast one acoustic signal when the user inputs the operation controlcommand through the user input device.
 15. The home appliance of claim1, further comprising: a display device that displays a first imageshowing a proceeding state till an end point of the sound output, whilethe sound is output through the output device.
 16. The home appliance ofclaim 15, wherein the first image comprises at least one of a number,picture and graph.
 17. The home appliance of claim 15, wherein the firstimage is an image where the number is inversely counted.
 18. The homeappliance of claim 15, wherein the first image is an image where thenumber of the graphs is reduced.
 19. The home appliance of claim 15,wherein the first image is an image showing a percentage of a remainingtime in an entire sound output time.
 20. The home appliance of claim 15,wherein the first image comprises at least one of a bar graph, circlegraph and line graph.
 21. The home appliance of claim 15, wherein theproceeding state is any one of a remaining time till an end point of thesound output and an elapsed time till the end point of the sound output.22. In a home appliance system that transmits product information of ahome appliance to a management device through a wire/wirelesscommunication network for fault diagnosis, and diagnoses fault of thehome appliance, the home appliance system, including: a conversiondevice that, upon receipt of a control command, converts productinformation into at least one acoustic signal and outputs the at leastone acoustic signal if the external command signal is ON, and does notoutput the at least one acoustic signal if the external command signalis OFF; an output device that outputs a sound corresponding to the atleast one acoustic signal output from the conversion device; acontroller that controls the at least one acoustic signal converted andoutput by the conversion device, so that a user is notified that theproduct information is about to be output; and a management deviceconfigured to receive the sound and inversely convert the sound into theproduct information based on the sound.
 23. The home appliance system ofclaim 22, further comprising an input device configured to receive thecontrol command from the home appliance or from outside of the homeappliance system.
 24. The home appliance system of claim 23, wherein theinput device comprises a manipulation device and the control commandcomprises an ON or OFF command, wherein the conversion device, uponreceipt of the ON or OFF command, converts product information into atleast one acoustic signal and outputs the at least one acoustic signalif the ON command is input, and does not output the at least oneacoustic signal if the OFF command is input.
 25. The home appliancesystem of claim 22, further comprising a storage device that stores theproduct information, wherein the controller transmits the productinformation stored in the storage device to the conversion device if theuser inputs an ON command signal through the manipulation device, andthe conversion device converts the product information into the at leastone acoustic signal.
 26. The home appliance system of claim 22, whereinthe at least one acoustic signal comprises a plurality of acousticsignals, wherein the plurality of acoustic signals comprises: a firstacoustic signal configured to notify the user the product information isabout to be output; and a second acoustic signal corresponding to theproduct information output upon completion of the first acoustic signal.27. The home appliance system of claim 26, wherein the plurality ofacoustic signals further comprises: a third acoustic signal configuredto notify the user that the product information has been output by theoutput device, wherein, when the conversion and outputting of the secondacoustic signal is completed, the controller controls the conversiondevice to output the third acoustic signal.
 28. The home appliancesystem of claim 27, wherein a sound corresponding to the first acousticsignal and a sound corresponding to the third acoustic signal include atleast one of a voice recognizable by the user, a melody, or a buzzersound.
 29. The home appliance system of claim 27, wherein the controllercontrols the conversion device to output a separation signal to separatethe plurality of acoustic signals during a dummy time between the firstacoustic signal, the second acoustic signal, and the third acousticsignal.
 30. The home appliance system of claim 29, wherein, when theseparation signal is input into the output device, the controllercontrols the output device to output a sound corresponding to theseparation signal as mute.
 31. The home appliance system of claim 26,wherein, when the outputting of the first acoustic signal is completed,the controller controls the output device to output the second acousticsignal a plurality of times.
 32. The home appliance system of claim 31,wherein the controller controls the conversion device to output a dataseparation signal during a data dummy time between the plurality ofsecond acoustic signals.
 33. The home appliance system of claim 32,wherein, when the data separation signal is input into the outputdevice, the controller controls the output device to output a soundcorresponding to the separation signal as mute.
 34. The home appliancesystem of claim 22, wherein the product information includes at leastone of operating information or fault information of the home appliance.35. The home appliance system of claim 23, wherein the user devicecomprises an user input device configured to receive an operationcontrol command from a user, wherein the controller controls a sequenceof outputting the at least one acoustic signal when the user inputs theoperation control command through the user input device.
 36. The homeappliance system of claim 22, wherein the sound output from the outputdevice is transmitted to the management device via a communicationsnetwork.
 37. The home appliance system of claim 36, further comprisingan external terminal connected to the management device and thecommunications network, wherein the user inputs the sound output fromthe output device into the external terminal.
 38. The home appliancesystem of claim 37, wherein the management device checks the productinformation by comparing the sound input from the external terminal withpreviously input data, judges a status of the home appliance based onthe product information, and links the product information to arepairman.
 39. The home appliance system of claim 22, wherein themanagement device comprises: a transmission/reception device thattransmits and receives sounds; a signal conversion device that inverselyconverts the sounds received from the transmission/reception device intoproduct information; and a management device controller that reads theconverted product information.
 40. The home appliance system of claim39, wherein the management device controller discriminates an order ofthe first acoustic signal, the second acoustic signal, and the thirdacoustic signal, and judges whether the second acoustic signal isdamaged.
 41. The home appliance system of claim 40, further comprising:an sound input device configured to receive a re-transmit command; andan inverse conversion device that converts the re-transmit command inputinto the sound input device and outputs the converted re-transmitcommand, wherein the management device controller discriminates an orderof the first acoustic signal, the second acoustic signal, and the thirdacoustic signal, and if it is judged that a sequence of the firstacoustic signal, the second acoustic signal, and the third acousticsignal is different from a previous input sequence, outputs there-transmit command through the transmission/reception device, and whenthe re-transmit command is input into the input device, the controllercontrols the output device to re-output the acoustic signals.
 42. Thehome appliance system of claim 40, further comprising: an acousticdevice configured to receive a re-transmit command; and an inverseconversion device that converts the re-transmit command input into thesound input device and outputs the converted re-transmit command,wherein, if it is judged that the second acoustic signal is damaged, themanagement device controller outputs the re-transmit command through thetransmission/reception device, and when the re-transmit command is inputinto the input device, the controller controls the output device tore-output the second acoustic signal.
 43. The home appliance system ofclaim 22, further comprising: a display device that displays a firstimage showing a proceeding state till an end point of the sound output,while the sound is output through the output device.
 44. The homeappliance system of claim 43, wherein the first image comprises at leastone of a number, picture and graph.
 45. The home appliance system ofclaim 43, wherein the first image is an image where the number isinversely counted
 46. The home appliance system of claim 43, wherein thefirst image is an image where the number of the graphs is reduced. 47.The home appliance system of claim 43, wherein the first image is animage showing a percentage of a remaining time in an entire sound outputtime.
 48. The home appliance system of claim 43, wherein the first imagecomprises at least one of a bar graph, circle graph and line graph. 49.The home appliance system of claim 43, wherein the proceeding state isany one of a remaining time till an end point of the sound output and anelapsed time till the end point of the sound output.